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back to main A sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Bob Rowlands on October 26, 2002 at the annual St. Francis "Blessing of the Animals" service held in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist St. John's, Newfoundland.
One of the great things about having E-mail is all the wonderfully enjoyable tit-bits that pop-up on my computer screen. Most of the time, these tit-bits take the form of jokes, that lighten my mood and improve my day. But, sometimes, these tit-bits that I get in my E-mail are NOT funny. Instead, they are serious and thought-provoking. That's what happened this past week when I got this message: "If you can start your day without caffeine, If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles, If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time, If you can overlook it when people take things out on you,
If you can eat the same food, day-after-day, and be grateful for it, If you can conquer tension without medical help, If you can relax without alcohol, If you can sleep without the aid of drugs... I don't know who it was who wrote this (the author is unknown), but, whoever it was, they wrote it because they had stumbled upon a profound truth. The profound truth is that, in many ways, animals are superior to people. What kind of arrogance is it, that makes human beings think that we are superior to the other animals who populate this earth? We are NOT!!! We are most certainly DIFFERENT from the other animals who populate this earth, but we should not kid ourselves, we should not flatter ourselves, into thinking that we are superior to them. Yes, I am well-aware of the fact that the scripture that we just read informs us that humankind was made "in the image of God." That means, that we humans, unlike the other sentient creatures that God has made, have the unique ability to CONSCIOUSLY relate to God. Essentially, that means that we humans have the ability to pray. It means that we humans have the ability to talk to God, and have a conscious and personal relationship with our Maker. I do not believe that my cat has the ability to CONSCIOUSLY communicate with his Maker. But, that does not mean that my cat cannot experience an UNconscious relationship with God, of which I am unaware, which enables him to live in harmony with his Creator. And, in fact, the evidence suggest exactly that!!! My cat, (whose name, by the way, is "Reverend," because the colour of his coat is black, with just a patch of white at the base of his neck, and who conducts himself with more ministerial dignity that I often-times do), consistently displays an inner harmony and contentment that I, all-too-often, do not have. This suggests to me that, in a way that is unique to him, albeit unconsciously, Reverend is living in harmony with his Creator. Whereas, I, (who, because I am human, DO have the ability to CONSCIOUSLY relate to my Creator), all-too-often I do NOT live in harmony with my Creator. And, I am painfully reminded of that fact, when Reverend jumps-up on my lap and sits there, purring with an inner-peace and contentment that most humans would envy. Friends, we are gathered here in this cathedral church this afternoon to ask our Creator to bless the animals that God has given us to be our friends and companions. By doing so, we are honouring them. We are acknowledging that they, too, are part of God's creation, and that they have just as much right to be here as we have. When the Bible says that we humans have been given "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth," it means that God has given us humans a very special task. It means that God has given us humans the task of being the STEWARDS of His creation. As the stewards of God's creation, it is our God-given responsibility to care for the other living creatures that God has made. What we might be asking ourselves this afternoon is, are we doing that? When we humans abuse the animals that God has given into our care, when we deliberately destroy the environment that gives them life, the natural habitat upon which they depend for life, we are NOT living up to the responsibility that God has given us, to be the stewards of His creation. So, perhaps, in this service this afternoon, we should also be doing something else: Perhaps we should be asking God for His forgiveness. Perhaps we should be asking God to forgive our human arrogance that makes us think that we are superior to the other animals that He created. And, perhaps we should be asking God for His forgiveness for the way that we, and our fellow human beings, for the sake of our selfish, materialist desires, are abusing and destroying this fragile earth, which He has given to be the home of ALL the living creatures that He has made. And, as we ask our Creator for his forgiveness, let us determine, that, in His strength, from now on, we will strive to do a better job of being His stewards, than we have done thus far. We are, today, honouring the memory of Francis of Assis, a great man of God, who, in his simple wisdom, understood all these things. Let us pray that God will give US a similar understanding.
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